Tamara Kostianovsky Turns Textiles Into Carcasses

Tamara Kostianovsky, an Israel-born, Argentina-raised artist, uses pieces of clothing—including her own—to construct meat carcasses that recreated muscle, bone, and cartilage. Her “Actus Reus” series places these gruesome, yet engrossing creations on meat hooks. While the soft nature of the material may not recall our insides, Kostianovsky’s reproductions still unsettle in their faithfulness to butchered bodies. Her “Still Lives” series takes a similar approach, yet maintains part of the emulated exterior of animal bodies (along with grander presentation).

The artist says this about the “Actus Reus” series: “The material connects our bodies with the ones in the work, bringing violent acts into a familiar realm. My intention is to confront the viewers with the real and grotesque nature of violence, offering a context for reflecting about the vulnerability of our physical existences, brutality, poverty, consumption, and the voracious needs of the body.”

The artist has shown her work internationally, with venues that include the Jewish Museum in New York, Magrorocca Galleria d’arte in Italy, and Maison et Object in Paris. She is a recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, The New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and other awards and grants.